Dynamic content selection menu

ABSTRACT

A content selection menu is generated and provided to a user. The content selection menu includes a plurality of audiovisual (AV) programs that are provided for user selection. The AV programs may be positioned in the content selection menu in accordance with their associated score for content attributes. Upon providing the content selection to a user, the user may select a program for viewing or the user may indicate interest in a program. If the user indicates interest in a program a second content selection menu is generated based at least in part on the attributes of the program of interest.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

This disclosure is related to presenting a menu of audiovisual (AV)content to a user and in particular a content selection menu thatfacilitates heuristic content searching.

Description of the Related Art

Connected devices and consumer electronics devices, such as set-topboxes and smart televisions, among others, are configured with userinterfaces (UIs) that allow users to search for content. For example,content streaming providers and satellite and cable television operatorsprovide various interfaces and menus for a user to search for contentand then receive the content on their television displays.

Conventional menus or content searching is based on time of day channelsor keyword identifiers, for example, a user searches for a title of thecontent and receives query results matching the user's search terms.Using keyword searching, a user may only locate content which they setout to identify, along with other incidental query results. Keywordsearching may not be suitable for users who seek to explore new contentor identify content heuristically or based on their mood. Furthermore,keyword searching does not permit users to identify content based on itssimilarity to other content known to the users.

Accordingly, it is desirable to have a method and apparatus forproviding a content selection menu that enables users to explore contentbased on a plurality of attributes of the content.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A menu for presenting AV programs to a target user is disclosed. Themenu can be displayed on a television or another type of display screen.The menu shows multiple audiovisual (AV) programs for the target user toselect. The AV programs may be positioned in the menu in accordance withtheir rating for a content attribute, such as a particular film genre.For example, the AV programs may be positioned in the menu in increasingorder (from bottom to top or from left to right) in accordance withtheir rating for the drama genre. Accordingly, films that are rated asbeing slightly dramatic are positioned on the left whereas more dramaticfilms are positioned on the right.

The menu may be multi-dimensional (for example, two- orthree-dimensional). Each dimension of the menu may correspond to acontent attribute, such as a genre, and the AV programs may bepositioned within an area or a space based on their ratings. Forexample, if the two dimensions of the menu correspond to the drama andcomedy genres, then an AV program positioned on the top right may berated as being highly dramatic and comedic, whereas another AV programpositioned on the bottom left may be rated as being slightly dramaticand comedic.

The menu is advantageous because it facilitates heuristic- or mood-basedsearching. As opposed to requiring a user to use keywords, such astitles, to search for content, the user may instead be presented with amenu showing a spectrum of programs ordered/positioned according tospecified attributes. The user may more easily identify a program toview that best fits his/her mood when the programs are presentedaccording to their attributes.

Instead of selecting a program to watch, a user may indicate interest ina genre or a particular program on the menu and explore similarprograms. The user may indicate interest in a program by, for example,pressing a specific remote control button. Based on indicating interest,another menu is generated that includes programs whose attributes aresimilar to the program of interest. For example, if the program ofinterest is highly dramatic and highly comedic, the second menu willpresent programs that are also highly dramatic and highly comedic. Theuser may select a program to watch from the second menu. Alternatively,the user may select a program of interest and another menu is generatedincluding programs having similar attributes as the program of interest.The process continues until the user has identified a program to watchor finishes exploring programs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic of an exemplary residential media entertainmentsystem.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing components of a content receiver.

FIG. 3 is an example of an environment for content selection menugeneration in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 4A shows an example of a content selection menu in accordance withone embodiment.

FIG. 4B shows an example of a content selection menu in accordance withone embodiment.

FIG. 4C shows an example of a content selection menu in accordance withone embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a three-dimensional content selection menu inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of a method for generating a contentselection menu in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of a method for generating a contentselection menu in accordance with one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In this specification, embodiments of the present disclosure illustratea subscriber satellite television service as an example. This detaileddescription is not meant to limit the disclosure to any specificembodiment. The present disclosure is equally applicable to cabletelevision systems, broadcast television systems, Internet streamingmedia systems, or other television or video distribution systems thatinclude user hardware, typically in the form of a content receiver orset-top box supported by the media provider or by a third partymaintenance service provider. Such hardware can also include, forexample, digital video recorder (DVR) devices and/or digital-video-disc(DVD) recording devices or other accessory devices inside, or separatefrom, the set-top box.

Throughout the specification, the term “subscriber” refers to an enduser who is a customer of a media service provider and who has anaccount associated with the media service provider. Subscriber equipmentresides at the subscriber's address. The terms “user” and “viewer” referto anyone using part or all of the home entertainment system componentsdescribed herein.

One skilled in the art will recognize that the present disclosure canalso apply to other types of systems that offer technical support to endusers. Such systems can include computer systems, networking systems,telephone systems, industrial equipment systems, medical equipmentsystems, and the like. While the disclosure shows and describesmedia-related embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in theart that various other changes in the form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The disclosure uses the term “signal” in various places. One skilled inthe art will recognize that the signal can be any digital or analogsignal. Those signals can include, but are not limited to, a bit, aspecified set of bits, an A/C signal, or a D/C signal. Uses of the term“signal” in the description can include any of these differentinterpretations. It will also be understood to one skilled in the artthat the term “connected” is not limited to a physical connection butcan refer to any means of communicatively or operatively coupling twodevices.

As a general matter, the disclosure uses the term content receiver as abroad term that includes a television converter, receiver, set-top box,television receiving device, television receiver, television recordingdevice, satellite set-top box, satellite receiver, cable set-top box,and cable receiver, and content receiver, to refer to electronicequipment that has the capacity to acquire, process and distribute forviewing one or more television signals transmitted by broadcast, cable,telephone or satellite distributors. DVR and “personal video recorder(PVR)” refer interchangeably to devices that can record and play backtelevision signals and that can implement playback functions including,but not limited to, play, fast-forward, rewind, and pause. As set forthin this specification and the figures pertaining thereto, DVR and PVRfunctionality or devices can be combined with a content receiver. Thesignals transmitted by these broadcast, cable, telephone, satellite, orother distributors can include, individually or in any combination,Internet, radio, television or telephonic data, and streaming media.

As yet another general matter, it will be understood by one skilled inthe art that the term “television” refers to a television set or videodisplay that can contain an integrated television converter device, forexample, an internal cable-ready television tuner housed inside atelevision or, alternatively, connected to an external televisionconverter device such as an external set-top box connected via cablingto a television. A further example of an external television converterdevice is the EchoStar Hopper combination satellite set-top box and DVR.

In the figures, identical reference numbers identify similar features orelements. The sizes and relative positions of the features in thefigures are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary mediasubscription service environment that includes a content receiver system100, according to one embodiment. A basic content receiver system 100includes a content receiver 202, also called a set-top box in somesystems, communicatively coupled to a source of media content, forpresentation on a display 204. The media content is provided as a mediasignal 201.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the content receiver system100 is a home media entertainment system, and the media signal 201 is asatellite signal received by the rooftop-mounted satellite receivingantenna 206. The content receiver 202 receives media content from thesatellite receiving antenna 206 via a communication link 208.

While the content receiver 202 is described herein as being connected toa satellite receiving antenna 206, in other embodiments the contentreceiver 202 can receive media content from other sources. For example,the content receiver 202 can receive media content via an antenna whichreceives terrestrial broadcast signals. Alternatively, the contentreceiver 202 can receive media content via the media signal 201 receivedvia a broadband cable subscriber service. Additionally or alternatively,the content receiver 202 can receive media content via the media signal201 received directly from the Internet 252 via a network communicationlink 210, using an Internet-based media subscription service.Furthermore, a content provider may provide to the subscriber multiplemedia signals 201 via satellite (as shown) and/or via the Internet 252,broadband cable and/or Internet, or in any other suitable way.

The content receiver 202 can be coupled to a television, or the contentreceiver 202 can be in the form of hardware built into a television,wherein the set-top box receives content from the media serviceprovider. Alternatively, the content receiver 202 can be any electronicdevice that receives media content by accessing the Internet 252; forexample, a gaming console, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, or a desktop computer.

The display 204 can be any kind of video display device such as acathode ray tube display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasmadisplay, a television, a computer monitor, a rear projection screen, afront projection screen, a heads-up display, or any other electronicdisplay device. The display 204 can include audio speakers, or thedisplay 204 can be coupled to separate audio speakers. The term “fordisplay” as used herein generally includes presentation of an audiocomponent as well as a video component of the media signal 201.

The communication links 208 and 210 typically are wired connections suchas one or more coaxial cables. One skilled in the art will recognizethat other methods and other systems of delivering the media signal 201to the content receiver 202 may be possible. For example, one or both ofthe communication links 208 and 210 can be wireless links.

The content receiver 202 optionally further includes one or moreperipheral devices 220 such as a media playback device including, butnot limited to, a DVD player, a VCR, a stereo, a television, a gameconsole, or a stand-alone DVR device that provides an alternate sourceof content directly to the display 204 via a wireless or a wiredconnection 222. Any of the peripheral devices 220 can besubscriber-owned devices, or they can be supplied by the mediasubscription service.

The remote control 226 can be operated by a user, for example, thesubscriber 224, to cause the content receiver 202 to display receivedcontent on the display 204. The remote control 226 may also be used by aviewer to display a programming guide and to communicate programselections to the content receiver 202. The remote control 226 iscommunicatively coupled to the content receiver 202 via a wireless path228, for example, an infrared (IR) signal. The remote control 226 can beused to send commands to the satellite content receiver 202, includingchannel selections, display settings, and DVR instructions. The wirelesspath 228 can use, for example, infrared or UHF transmitters within theremote control 226. One example of an embodiment of the remote control226 is the EchoStar Technologies Corporation 40.0 Remote Control thatincludes an IR transmitter and an ultra-high frequency (UHF)transmitter. The remote control 226 may be able to send signals to theother peripheral devices 220 that form part of the content receiversystem 100. The content receiver 202 may also be able to send signals tothe remote control 226, including, but not limited to, signals toconfigure the remote control 226 to operate the other peripheral devicesin the content receiver system 100. In some embodiments, the remotecontrol 226 has a set of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Some remotecontrols can include Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) or other screens.The remote control 226 can include buttons, dials, or other man-machineinterfaces. While the remote control 226 can often be the common meansfor a user to communicate with the satellite content receiver 202, oneskilled in the art will recognize that other means of communicating withthe content receiver 202 are available, including, but not limited to,attached keyboards, smart phones, front panel buttons or touch screens.

The satellite receiving antenna 206 receives media content via the mediasignal 201 from one or more satellite transponders in earth orbit. Eachsatellite transponder is, for purposes of the content receiver system100, a source of content that transmits one or more media channels tothe satellite receiving antenna 206. A satellite television distributorcan transmit one or more satellite television signals to one or moresatellites. Satellite television distributors can utilize severalsatellites to relay the satellite television signals to the subscriber224. Each satellite can have several transponders. Transponders transmitthe satellite signal from the satellite to the satellite receivingantenna 206.

FIG. 2 shows components of the content receiver 202 suitable for use incombination with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Components ofthe content receiver 202 include control circuitry 266, one or moretuning devices 254, an optional internal digital video recorder (DVR)256, a non-transitory computer readable memory 258, a network interface260, a peripheral interface 262, and a remote control interface 264.

Generally, the content receiver 202 can receive one or more televisionsignals from a media provider such as a cable television distributor, abroadcast television distributor or a satellite television distributor.In the embodiment shown, the content receiver system 100 receivessignals from a satellite television distributor via the satellitecontent receiver 202. One skilled in the art will recognize that contentreceiver 202 can also receive video-digital subscriber line (VDSL), DSL,Internet 252, wireless and other signals from content or videodistributors. The satellite content receiver 202 can process televisionsignals and can send the processed signals to peripheral electronicdevices, such as the display 204 and the remote control 226. Thesatellite content receiver 202 also can accept commands from the remotecontrol 226 or other peripheral electronic devices. More detail aboutthe functionality of the satellite content receiver 202 is providedbelow. One skilled in the art will recognize that many embodiments ofthe content receiver system 100 are possible and within the scope ofthis disclosure. Other such embodiments can include, but are not limitedto, various combinations or permutations of devices and connections forthe delivery, storage, and display of communications, content and otherdata.

In one embodiment, the content receiver 202 receives media content fromthe satellite receiving antenna 206. The tuning device 254 tunes into aselected media channel received by the satellite receiving antenna 206to acquire a satellite signal. The tuning device 254 can initiallyprocess the satellite signal. The tuning device 254 can also receivesubscriber commands in the form of signals from the control circuitry266. Signals from the control circuitry 266 can include, but are notlimited to, a signal to tune to a transponder as part of the process ofselecting a certain channel for viewing on a peripheral device. Thetuning device 254 transmits the acquired satellite signal to the controlcircuitry 266 where the signal can undergo extensive signal processing.

Furthermore, the content receiver 202 can include multiple tuningdevices 254. This allows the content receiver 202 to record two or moreprograms that air simultaneously. Generally, the content receiver 202can record one show at a single time for each tuning device 254 that thecontent receiver 202 includes. For example, if the content receiver 202includes two tuning devices 254, then the content receiver 202 canrecord two media programs simultaneously. Thus if there is a recordingconflict between two programs, the content receiver 202 can still recordboth programs because it has two tuners. If a recording conflict occursbecause the number of tuning devices 254 is less than the number ofprograms the subscriber 224 wants to view or record, the controlcircuitry 266 can be programmed to resolve the conflict by prioritizingcertain media content according to the subscriber's directions, orautomatically, based on various criteria.

The DVR 256 can be used to record programs locally in the contentreceiver 202. For example, while viewing the programming guide the usermay notice a TV show that is not broadcast at a convenient time. Byusing the remote control 226 the user can command the content receiver202 to record the TV show to the DVR 256 so that the user may view theTV show at a later convenient time. When the user selects a program tobe recorded to the DVR, the content receiver 202 sets a recording timerthat causes the content receiver 202 to automatically record theselected program at the scheduled time. At a time convenient to theuser, the user can operate the remote control 226 to cause the contentreceiver 202 to display a list of programs that have been recorded tothe DVR. The user can select the desired program from the list ofrecorded programs and the content receiver 202 will play back theselected program.

The satellite content receiver 202 can be connected to the display 204and the peripheral devices 220 through a peripheral interface 262. Suchperipheral devices can send and receive signals to and from thesatellite content receiver 202. For instance, a television can receivevideo and audio signals, whereas a stereo can receive only audiosignals. One skilled in the art will recognize that the peripheraldevices can include many types of commercially available electronicdevices.

Another peripheral device and connection to the satellite contentreceiver 202 can include a phone line and modem. Content receiver 202can use a modem and phone line to communicate with one or more outsideentities or systems (e.g., satellite television distributor) using DSLor other protocol.

The remote control interface 264 includes instructions that allow a userto communicate with the satellite content receiver 202, and can beimplemented using the peripheral interface 262 or by connecting aseparate remote control interface device. The remote control interface264 can translate an input from the user into a format understandable bythe control circuitry 266. The remote control interface 264 can thus beconsidered a user interface (UI). The translation systems can include,but are not limited to, electronic receivers and electronic relays. Theremote control interface 264 can receive commands from more than oneremote control 226. The remote control 226 can use infrared, UHF, orother communications technology. One skilled in the art will recognizethat other means to receive and translate user inputs are possible.

FIG. 3 is an example of an environment 300 for generating a contentselection menu in accordance with at least one embodiment. Theenvironment 300 includes an AV source 301, a content selection menugeneration entity 304 and a content receiver 202. The AV source 301includes both a content attribute database 302 and a source for AVcontent 303. As shown in FIG. 3, the AV source 301, the contentselection menu generation entity 304 and the content receiver 202 arecommunicatively coupled to permit the content selection menu generationentity 304 to have access to the AV source 301 or the content attributedatabase 302 thereof. The content selection menu generation entity 304is able to retrieve data from the content attribute database 302.Further, the content selection menu generation entity 304 may transmitand receive data from the content receiver 202.

The content attribute database 302 may be any type of storage systemthat stores an identity associated with content as well as one or moreattributes of the content. Furthermore, for each content attribute, thecontent attribute database 302 will also store an associated score thatrepresents a degree of association between the content and the attributeor a level of correspondence between the content and the attribute. Thescore may be a value that represents a numeric score. In variousembodiments, however, the score may be a letter grade, among others.

The content attribute database 302 may be any type of system capable ofstoring data. For example, the content attribute database 302 may be adatabase server, a hard disk or hard drive, among others. Furthermore,the content attribute database 302 may be local in relation to thecontent selection menu generation entity 304 or the content receiver 202or may be remotely accessible via a network, such as the Internet or anintranet.

In one embodiment, the AV content 303 and the attributes are storedtogether in the same database. Normally, each AV program has associatedwith itself the attributes of that program. Thus, a single source canprovide both the AV program that is the content as well as theattributes. For example, when searching just for the attributes, thatpart of each AV program which contains the attributes is received andnot the entire program content. The attributes may be metadata of the AVcontent 303. For example, if the AV content 303 is a multimedia file,the metadata may be stored as part of the metadata file or in adifferent file.

In various embodiments, the AV content 303 and the content attributesdatabase 302 are not independent entities and one entity may store thecontent attributes and the AV content 303. Furthermore, the contentattributes may be stored in and retrieved from an entity that is notdedicated solely dedicated for their storage. Instead the entity may beused to store and provide the content as well as its attributes. Forexample, the AV source 301 of FIG. 3 may include only one entity that isconfigured to provide both the AV content 303 and its associatedattributes.

As described herein, content may be any type of media, such as audio,video or audiovisual media. In various embodiments, the content may bean image or text. Further, the content may be broadcast live orprerecorded. For example, the content may be a live sport or politicalevent, a movie, a television series, a song or a radio program, amongothers. The content may be identified in the content attribute database302 by a content identifier. The content identifier may be analphanumeric, binary or hexadecimal identifier, among others. Thecontent identifier may be used to uniquely identify and distinguish thecontent from other content, such as other audiovisual (AV) programs,whereby the content identifier may be a title of the AV program.

The content attribute database 302 may store the content identifier aswell as one or more content attributes associated with the content. Acontent attribute may be any type of classification or categoryassociated with the content. A content attribute may be a genre to whichthe content is classified as belonging. The genre may be action,military fiction, spy fiction, western fiction, adventure, comedy,parody, humorous, romantic comedy, crime, courtroom drama, detectivestory, legal thriller, fantasy, fables, epic fantasy, mythic fiction,science fantasy, historical, biographical, historical fiction, periodpiece, horror, mystery, paranormal, political, romance, saga, sciencefiction, war, psychological thriller or crime thriller, among others.

Furthermore, in the event that the content is television program, movieor song, the content attribute may be a period or a decade in which thecontent was produced. For example, a content attribute may be 1980s,1990s or 2000s. The content attribute may also be a period or a decadein which the depicted events of the AV program take place. For example,a movie may be produced in 1990s depicting events in the 1860s. Thereare thus two date attributes, the date of production and the date thatis the subject of the AV content 303. A period attribute may be 1860,1920s, 1930s or 1940s, among others. In various embodiments, the contentattribute may be a writer, producer, director or actor of an AV program.The content attribute may also be an award that the AV program won.

The content attribute database 302 may store the content identifiertogether with one or more attributes associated with the content (oridentifiers thereof). Furthermore, each content attribute may be scored(or rated) to reflect a degree or level of association of the content tothe content attribute. The rating may be a numeric rating oralphabetical rating, among others.

Referring to content as an AV program, a first AV program 312 shown inFIG. 3 has a drama score of 61, whereas a second AV program 314 has adrama score of 11. Accordingly, due to its higher rating for drama, thefirst AV program 312 is more closely associated with the drama genrethan the second AV program 314. An AV program 312, 314 may be scoredwith respect to a content attribute anywhere in a scoring range andbetween a maximum score and a minimum score. For example, the scoringrange may be between 0 and 100, where a score of 0 indicates noassociation with the content attribute and a score of 100 indicatesmaximum association with the content attribute. Alternatively, the AVprogram 312, 314 may be scored for each content attribute such that thesum of all the scores results in a pre-specified value, such as 100.Accordingly, an AV program 312, 314 that is mostly dramatic and slightlycomedic and is not associated with other content attributes may havescores of 80 for drama and 20 for comedy.

Scoring the AV programs 312, 314 may be based on user feedback. Forexample, the first AV program 312 may have received a higher dramarating than the second AV program 314 due to the fact that more usersrated the first AV program 312 as belonging to the drama genre than thesecond AV program 314. Users that view an AV program 312, 314 may beasked to rate the program for various genres (for example, by providinga score for the genre or selecting a number of starts from a maximumnumber of stars). The ratings of one or more users are then compiled andaggregated to determine the score associated with an AV program 312, 314for each attribute. Further, a content provider, such as a satellitetelevision or cable provider may rate the content for various genres. Inaddition, the content producer, such as a movie studio, or distributormay provide various scores for the content attributes. The scores foreach content attribute provided by a number of sources may be aggregatedto determine the content's score for each attributes.

The content selection menu generation entity 304 may be any type ofcomputer system configured to generate a content selection menu. Thecontent selection menu generation entity 304 may be a server or a hostcomputer equipped with computing functionality. For example, the servermay include one or more central processing units (CPUs) that provide thecomputing functionality. Further, the selection menu generation entity304 may be equipped with storage and networking capability.

The content selection menu generation entity 304 may generate thecontent selection menu based at least in part on received informationfrom the content attribute database 302. The information may include aplurality of content identities that are to be evaluated for inclusionin the content selection menu. Further, for each identity of theplurality of identities, the content selection menu generation entity304 receives one or more associated content attributes as well as ascore pertaining to each content attribute of the one or more contentattributes.

As described herein, the content selection menu may be amultidimensional menu having a plurality of axes. Each axis of theplurality of axes may correspond to a content attribute that isdifferent than the content attribute of another axis of the plurality ofaxes. An AV program may be positioned within the content selection menuand relative to each axis in accordance with the AV program's scorepertaining to the content attribute denoted on the axis.

The content selection menu generation entity 304 may generate a contentselection menu 320 and may provide the content selection menu 320 to thecontent receiver 202. The content receiver 202 may cause the contentselection menu 320 to be rendered on a display device (such as atelevision screen) for user selection. It is noted that, in variousembodiments, the content selection menu generation entity 304 may belocal to the content receiver 202, whereby the content selection menugeneration entity 304 may be part of the content receiver 202.Alternatively, the content selection menu generation entity 304 may beremote in relation to the content receiver 202 and accessible over acommunication network. If the content selection menu generation entity304 is remote in relation to the content receiver 202, the contentselection menu 320 may be transmitted to the content receiver over thecommunication network and user selection described herein may betransmitted back from the content receiver 202 over the network.

FIG. 4A shows an example of a content selection menu 320 in accordancewith at least one embodiment. The content selection menu 320 has ahorizontal axis 332 and a vertical axis 334. The horizontal axis 332 isassociated with a first content attribute 336 and the vertical axis 334is associated with a second content attribute 338. In FIG. 4A, the firstcontent attribute 336 is shown to be the drama genre and the secondcontent attribute 338 is shown to be the comedy genre. As describedherein, an AV program may be positioned in the content selection menu320 relative to the drama axis or the comedy axis in accordance with theAV program's score pertaining to the drama or comedy genre,respectively. Further, when presenting the content selection menu 320each axis 332, 334 may be labeled with its respective content attribute.

A plurality of AV programs 342 a-342 i (collectively herein referred toas 342) may be provided for selection using the content selection menu320. As shown in FIG. 4A, previews or images of the AV programs 342 areshown in the content selection menu 320 for identifying the respectiveAV programs 342. The shown images may be captions from a movie thatserve to identify the movie to users. Furthermore, the previews that areshown may be several minutes in length and may be continually playedwhile the menu 320 is presented. If the menu 320 is presented for alonger duration of time than the length of the preview, the preview maybe repeatedly played or interleaved with movie captions or identifyinginformation, such as title, actor/actress information, director orproducer, among others. Because the content selection menu istwo-dimensional having the first axis 332 and the second axis 334, theplurality of AV content 342 may be disposed in a plane defined by thetwo axes 332, 334. The positioning of an AV program 342 along each axisof the plane may be based on and reflective of the AV program's 342score for the attribute pertaining to the axis. For example, the firstAV program 342 a is closer to an origin point 340 along the first axis332 than the seventh AV program 342 g because the first AV program 342 ahas a lower drama score (score of 11) than the seventh AV program 342 g,which has a drama score of 69. Similarly, the third AV program 342 c isfarther from the origin point 340 along the second axis 334 than thefirst AV program 342 a because the third AV program 342 c has a highercomedy score (score of 71) than the first AV program 342 a, which has acomedy of 13.

As shown in FIG. 4A, each of the plurality of AV programs 342 are alsoassociated with a number of other content attributes and have scores foreach attribute with which they are associated. The plurality of AVprograms 342 may each be associated with varying content attributes andhave different scores for those attributes.

An axis of the content selection menu 320 serves as a reference for thescore of an AV program associated with the content attribute of theaxis. The positioning of an AV program 342 with respect to the axisreflects the score of the AV content 342 for the content attributeassociated with the axis. By spatially positioning an AV program 342 inrelation to its associated scores for various content attributes,searching for content becomes more intuitive.

When rendering the content selection menu 320 on a display device, suchas a smart television, each AV program 342 that is part of the contentselection menu 320 may be presented to a viewer by a brief previewsegment. For example, when rendering the content selection menu 320 ofFIG. 4A, each AV program 342 in the menu may be represented by a windowincluding a short a preview of the AV program 342. The user can click onthe program for a preview if they wish. The window may be a region or anarea of the display. For example, the window may have a square or arectangular boundary or another boundary in accordance with anotheraspect ratio.

As an alternative to the preview, the title of the AV program 342 may beshown along with other data associated with the AV program, such as adirector or an actor starring in the AV program. In various embodiments,if the AV program is live broadcast on a television channel, thebroadcast may be shown in the content selection menu 320.

In addition to previewing the video portion of an AV program, the audioportion may also be previewed. When a menu 320 comprises a plurality ofAV programs, the video portions of the programs may be previewedsimultaneously. However, it may be advantageous that only one audioportion be previewed at any one point in time because the crosstalkgenerated from previewing more than one audio portion may be bothersometo some users. Selecting an AV program for audio previewing may be basedon user input, whereby the user may select or navigate using a pointerto an AV program. Absent user input (for example, when the menu 320 isinitially provided to a user) a default AV program of the menu may bechosen (for example, randomly or based on its positioning in the menu)for audio preview.

When a menu 320 of the plurality of AV programs 342 is provided to auser, the user may provide a selection input of an AV program of theplurality of AV programs 342. The selection input may indicate that theuser seeks to watch the selected AV program. The selection input may beindicated using a specified button on a remote control or other inputdevice, among others. When a user provides the selection input, thecontent selection menu 320 is no longer displayed and the AV program isthen played on the display device of the user.

Alternatively, the user may select an AV program 342 to preview moreextensively than permissible through the menu 320. Accordingly, thewindow showing the AV program 342 may be enlarged and the video and/oraudio of the AV program may be played for the user to preview. Followingcompleting the preview, the user may return to the content selectionmenu 320, whereupon the user may preview another AV program or indicatea selection input of an AV program from the content selection menu 320for watching.

The user may alternatively opt to continue searching for AV programs 342or explore other AV programs using the content selection menu 320. Theuser may provide an interest input of an AV program 342 provided by thecontent selection menu 320 (for example, by pressing a specified buttonon a remote control or using another type of input device). The interestinput may indicate that the user seeks to explore more AV programs 342similar to the indicated interest. The content selection menu 320 willfacilitate intuitive searching of AV programs. The content selectionmenu 320 will facilitate heuristic and mood-based content explorationand searching, whereby the user will be guided to find AV programs 342similar to one that the user knows or has previously watched. Byexperimenting and trial-and-error, the user may utilize the contentselection menu 320 to navigate to AV programs 342 that fit his or hermood. With the content selection menu 320, searching for AV programsbecomes a way of further investigating available AV program 342 otherthan a discrete or keyword-based search.

For example, using a remote control the user may show an interest in anAV program 342 by navigating to the AV program and pressing a specificremote control button to indicate that a further AV program search issought of programs of the same type. Alternatively, hand gesturerecognition may be used for identifying the AV program of interest.

Based on the interest input a subsequent content selection menu 320 isprovided. The subsequent content selection menu may include AV programs342 that are identified based on the content attributes of the AVprogram of interest. As shown in FIG. 4A, the user provided an interestinput for the seventh AV program 342 g. As a result, the contentselection menu generation entity described herein will generate afurther content selection menu 320 described with reference to FIG. 4B.The further content selection menu 320 will be generated based on theseventh AV program 342 g or the content attributes associated with theprogram 342 g.

Similar to the prior generation of the content selection menu 320, twoor more content attributes are identified for program 342 g (usually thetop two or three attribute scores) and each content attribute is linkedto an axis of the content selection menu 320. The content attributes336, 338 corresponding to the axes of the content selection menu 320 ofFIG. 4B are determined based on the attributes of the AV program 342 gof the interest input. In the example of FIG. 4A, because the seventh AVprogram 342 g has a relatively high score for the drama attribute, thedrama attribute may be used as an axis of the content selection menu320. The other axis of the content selection menu may correspond toanother content attribute for which the selected AV program has arelatively high score. Because the seventh AV program 342 g has arelatively high score has a relatively high score for the crime genre,the crime genre is selected as the content attribute of the second axisof the content selection menu 320. In various embodiments, the pluralityof content attributes of a content selection menu may be those contentattributes for which the AV program of the interest input has thehighest scores.

Similar to the content selection menu 320 described with reference toFIG. 4A, the content selection menu 320 of FIG. 4B includes a secondplurality of AV programs 344 a-344 i (collectively referred herein as344). Each AV program of the second plurality of AV programs 344 ispositioned in a plane defined by the first and second axes 332, 334. Theposition along each axis is determined based on the AV program'sassociated score for the content attribute of the axis as describedherein.

The second plurality of AV programs 344 may be different than theplurality of AV programs 344 or there may be some AV programs that areincluded in both menus. The AV program 342 g indicated by the interestinput may be excluded from the content selection menu of FIG. 4B due tothe fact that the user was presented with the option of viewing theselected AV program but opted to search for other similar AV programsinstead. Alternatively, and as described herein, the AV program 342 gindicated by the interest input may be presented as part of a subsequentcontent selection menu.

Similar to the first content selection menu 320, the user provide aselection input and select an AV program to preview or watch.Alternatively, the user may provide an interest input to choose aprogram that is closest to that which they seek to view and a newcontent selection menu may be presented including a further plurality ofAV programs. If an AV program is selected for generating another contentselection menu, the content attributes of the AV program, as well as thecontent attributes of the previously selected AV program, may be used todetermine the content attributes of the axes of the menu. For example,the attributes of the selected programs may be correlated to identifythe attributes of the axes of the newly generated menu. A history ofuser selections may be stored and utilized for determining the contentattributes of programs the user seeks to watch. These content attributesare then used for presenting further content selection menus. Thehistory of user selections may be stored for one session of contentbrowsing and selection or over multiple sessions of the user over aperiod of time.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the user provides an indication of interest in thethird AV program 344 c. The content selection menu 320 shown in FIG. 4Cis generated based at least in part on the received indication ofinterest in the third AV program 344 c. Because the third AV program 344c of the second plurality of AV programs 344 has relatively high scoresfor the documentary genre attribute and the 2000s production attribute,the documentary genre attribute and the 2000s production attribute areused as axes 332, 334 attributes.

In addition, a third plurality of AV programs 345 a-345 h (collectivelyreferred herein as 345) are identified. The third plurality of AVprograms 345 have certain features in common. The third plurality of AVprograms 345 have scores for the documentary genre attribute and the2000s production attribute that are commensurate with the scores of thethird AV program 344 c program of interest. The scores of the thirdplurality of AV programs 345 for the documentary genre attribute and the2000s production attribute may be within predetermined ranges of thoseof the third AV program 344 c of interest. The third plurality of AVprograms 345 are selected such that they have both higher scores foreach content attribute and lower scores for each content attribute thanthe program of interest 344 c.

As shown in FIG. 4C, the third AV program 344 c of interest is part ofthe content selection menu 320. Disposed around the third AV program 344c are a third plurality of AV programs 345 that also have relativelyhigh scores for the documentary genre attribute and the 2000s productionattribute. The location of a third AV program of the third plurality ofAV programs 345 is a function of the program's scores for thedocumentary genre attribute and the 2000s production attribute. Forexample, the first AV program 345 a of the menu 320 (listed as “AVprogram 21”) has the lowest scores for both the documentary genreattribute and the 2000s production attribute. Accordingly, the first AVprogram 345 a is positioned closest to the origin point 340 of the menu320 than the other programs.

The selection of the third plurality of AV programs 345 also accountsfor historical user interest. Because the AV program of the firstinterest input (described with reference to FIG. 4A) had a relativelyhigh score (score of 78) for the crime genre attribute, some of thethird plurality of AV programs 345 also have high scores for the crimegenre attribute. As shown in FIG. 4C, AV programs 345 c,d,e,g have highscores for the crime attribute. As the user continues to provideinterest input, patterns of user interest are identified. Also, contentselection menus are generated based on historical user interest.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a three-dimensional content selection menu inaccordance with at least one embodiment. The content selection menu 320has three axes 346 a-346 c (collectively referred to herein as 346).Each axis 346 is associated with a corresponding content attribute,whereby the first axis 346 a is associated with a first contentattribute 348 a that is the drama genre, the second axis 346 b isassociated with a second content attribute 348 b that is the romancegenre and the third axis 346 c is associated with a third contentattribute 348 a that is the science fiction genre.

A plurality of AV programs 350 a-350 g (collectively referred to as 350)are positioned in a volume defined by the three axes 346. Thepositioning of each AV program 350 with respect to a point of origin 340defining the center of the axes 346 is a function of the rating of theprogram for the content attribute corresponding to each axis. Forexample, the AV program referenced by the numeral 350 f has a highrating for drama but low ratings for both romance and science fiction.Conversely, the AV program referenced by the numeral 350 d has a highrating for science fiction but low ratings for both drama and romance.

FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of a method for generating a contentselection menu in accordance with at least one embodiment. In themethod, a content selection menu generation entity, such as the contentselection menu generation entity 304 described with reference to FIG. 3,selects 602 a plurality of content attributes. The plurality of contentattributes may be selected for use as axes of a content selection menu.The plurality of content attributes may be selected randomly. Forexample, if the content selection menu is to be presented to a userabsent any user input, the plurality of content attributes may berandomly chosen for use in generating the content selection menu.Alternatively, the plurality of content attributes may be configured bya user. For example, the user may specify two or more content attributes(such as the action and comedy genres) to be used in presenting thecontent selection menu. Further, absent user input, the most popularuser-configured content attributes may be selected for generating thecontent selection menu.

The content selection menu generation entity then identifies 604 aplurality of AV programs for inclusion in the content selection menu. Asdescribed herein, each AV program may be associated with a scoreindicating the rating of the AV program as it relates to a contentattribute. The AV programs may be identified such that a wide selectionof AV programs is presented. For each selected content attribute, AVprograms having low, moderate and high score for the content attributemay be selected. For example, the range of scores associated with acontent attribute may be segmented into three segments such that scoresbetween 0 and 32 are deemed low, scores between 33 and 66 are deemedmoderate and scores between 67 and 100 are deemed high. If a 3×3 menuincluding nine AV programs is sought to be presented, then the menu maybe include an AV program for each combination of score segments for thecontent attributes. The menu may be populated with a first AV programhaving low scores for both content attributes, a second AV programhaving a low score for a first content attribute and a moderate scorefor a second content attribute, a third AV program having a low scorefor a first content attribute and a high score for a second contentattribute and so on.

The content selection menu generation entity then populates 606 thecontent selection menu with the plurality of AV programs. Populating thecontent selection menu may include positioning the AV programs (or anidentifier thereof, such as a preview or a title of the AV programs) ina multidimensional space. As described herein, the multidimensionalspace has axes that correspond to the selected content attributes and anAV program is positioned along the axes in accordance with itsrespective scores. The content selection menu generation entity oranother entity, such as a content receiver, then outputs 608 the contentselection menu. It is noted that in various embodiments, the contentselection menu generation entity is part of the content receiver and thecontent receiver both generates the content selection menu and sends thecontent selection menu for display on a display device. As describedherein, outputting the content selecting menu may include rending thecontent selection menu for viewing on a display device, such as atelevision screen.

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of a method for generating a contentselection menu in accordance with at least one embodiment. In themethod, an entity, such as the content receiver described with referenceto numeral 202 or the content selection menu generation entity describedwith reference to numeral 304, outputs 702 a first content selectionmenu identifying a plurality of AV programs. The entity then receives704 an indication of an AV program of interest of the plurality of AVprograms. The entity then selects 706 a plurality of content attributesbased on the content attributes of the AV program of interest. Theentity then generates 708 a second content selection menu based on theselected plurality of attributes. The second content selection menu maythen be outputted. A user may select content to view or may indicateinterest in content for generation of further content selection menus.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent applicationpublications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patentapplications and non-patent publications referred to in thisspecification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet areincorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of theembodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of thevarious patents, applications and publications to provide yet furtherembodiments.

These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of theabove-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, theterms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specificembodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should beconstrued to include all possible embodiments along with the full scopeof equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, theclaims are not limited by the disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for generating a multi-dimensionalcontent selection menu comprising: obtaining a first set of a pluralityof content attributes specific to a target user; assigning each contentattribute of the first set to a respective axis of a plurality of axesof the content selection menu; identifying a plurality of audiovisual(AV) programs, each AV program having an associated value for eachcontent attribute of the first set; determining, for each AV program, aposition along each axis of the plurality of axes based on the value forthe content attribute corresponding to the respective axis for thatattribute; populating the content selection menu with the plurality ofAV programs by positioning each AV program in a multidimensional spacedefined by the plurality of axes in accordance with the determinedposition along each axis of the plurality of axes; outputting thecontent selection menu for presentation; receiving an interest input ofan AV program from the target user indicating an interest level in oneof the plurality of AV programs; obtaining a second set of a secondplurality of content attributes based on the interest input, whereinobtaining the second set of the second plurality of content attributesfurther includes: selecting the second set of the second plurality ofcontent attributes from a set of content attributes associated with theAV program of interest input, wherein selecting the second set of thesecond plurality of content attributes from the set of contentattributes associated with the AV program of interest includes:identifying, for the AV program of interest, a score corresponding toeach of the content attributes associated with the AV program ofinterest, and selecting to be included in the second set of the secondplurality of content attributes, each second content attribute of thesecond set to be associated with a second axis of a plurality of secondaxes of a second content selection menu, two content attributes from theset of content attributes associated with the AV program of interestthat have two top identified corresponding scores of all identifiedscores of the content attributes associated with the AV program ofinterest; associating each second content attribute of the second setwith a second axis of the plurality of second axes of the second contentselection menu; identifying a plurality of second AV programs differentfrom the plurality of AV programs, each second AV program having anassociated second value for each second content attribute; determining,for each second AV program, a second position along each second axis ofthe plurality of second axes based on the second value for the secondcontent attribute corresponding to the respective second axis for thatattribute; populating the second content selection menu with theplurality of second AV programs by positioning each second AV program ina space defined by the plurality of second axes in accordance with thedetermined second position; and outputting the second content selectionmenu for presentation.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving a selection input of a second AV program of the plurality ofsecond AV programs; and providing the selected second AV program forplay in response to receiving the selection input.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein a first AV program of the plurality of AV programs isdisplayed at a different position on the presented menu than a second AVprogram of the plurality of AV programs.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising: in response to outputting the second contentselection menu, receiving a second interest input of a second AV programfrom the target user indicating an interest level in one of the secondplurality of AV programs; generating a subsequent content selection menuin response to the second interest input; and outputting the subsequentcontent selection menu.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein outputting thecontent selection menu further includes: outputting a preview of atleast one AV program of the plurality of AV programs.
 6. The method ofclaim 1 wherein an AV program of the plurality of AV programs is a livebroadcast and is provided for viewing as part of the content selectionmenu.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the value represents a level ofassociation between the AV program and the content attribute of theplurality of content attributes.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein theplurality of axes are two axes or three axes.
 9. A method for generatinga content selection menu, the method comprising: associating each axisof a plurality of axes of the content selection menu with a respectivecontent attribute of a plurality of content attributes; selecting aplurality of AV programs; identifying, for an AV program of theplurality of AV programs, a score corresponding to each contentattribute of the plurality of content attributes; determining a positionfor the AV program in a space defined by the plurality of axes based onthe score; outputting the content selection menu for display, thecontent selection menu including an identifier of the AV programpositioned in the determined position for the AV program; receiving aninterest input from a target user indicating an interest level in one ofthe plurality of AV programs; generating a second content selection menuin response to the interest input, wherein the generating the secondcontent selection menu in response to the interest input includes:identifying, for the AV program of interest, a score corresponding toeach content attribute of a set of content attributes associated withthe AV program of interest; selecting to be included in a second set ofa second plurality of content attributes, two content attributes fromthe set of content attributes associated with the AV program of interestthat have two top identified corresponding scores of all identifiedscores of the content attributes associated with the AV program ofinterest; and associating each content attribute of the second set witha second axis of a plurality of second axes of the second contentselection menu; and outputting the second content selection menu fordisplay on a display device.
 10. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising: in response to outputting the second content selection menu,receiving a second interest input or a selection input from the targetuser.
 11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: receiving aselection input from a target user indicating a selection of one of theplurality of AV programs; and outputting the selected one of theplurality of AV programs for display on a display device.
 12. The methodof claim 9 wherein the identifier of the AV program is a preview of theAV program or a title of the AV program.
 13. The method of claim 9wherein outputting the content selection menu includes labeling eachaxis of the plurality of axes with the respective content attribute ofthe plurality of content attributes.
 14. A method for generating amultidimensional content selection menu, the method comprising:determining a number of dimensions of the content selection menu;associating each dimension with a content attribute of a plurality ofcontent attributes; selecting a plurality of AV programs, an AV programof the plurality of AV programs is selected based at least in part on ascore of the AV program associated with at least one content attributeof the plurality of content attributes; positioning the plurality of AVprograms in the content selection menu; outputting the content selectionmenu for display; receiving interest input of an AV program of theplurality of AV programs from a target user; generating a second contentselection menu based at least in part on the interest input, wherein thegenerating the second content selection menu in response to the interestinput includes: identifying, for the AV program of interest, a scorecorresponding to each content attribute of a set of content attributesassociated with the AV program of interest; selecting to be included ina second set of a second plurality of content attributes, two contentattributes from the set of content attributes associated with the AVprogram of interest that have two top identified corresponding scores ofall identified scores of the content attributes associated with the AVprogram of interest; and associating each content attribute of thesecond set with an axis of a plurality of axes of the second contentselection menu; and outputting the second content selection menu. 15.The method of claim 14, further comprising: storing historical interestinput data indicating user interest in AV programs; generating asubsequent content selection menu based at least in part on thehistorical interest input data; and outputting the subsequent contentselection menu.
 16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:determining a coordinate position for each AV program of the pluralityof AV programs with respect to each dimension of the content selectionmenu; and placing an identifier of the AV program in the contentselection menu in accordance with the coordinate position.
 17. Themethod of claim 14 wherein the plurality of content attributes aredetermined based at least in part on a history of AV program selectionof a user.
 18. The method of claim 14 wherein providing the contentselection menu for display further includes: decoding, by at least onetuner, at least one AV program of the plurality of AV programs that islive broadcast; and displaying the decoded at least one AV program,positioned within the content selection menu, on a display device.
 19. Asystem for generating a multidimensional content selection menu, thesystem comprising: a receiver having control circuitry; a memory coupledto the control circuitry, the memory having compute-executableinstructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause the controlcircuitry to cause the system to: determine a number of dimensions ofthe content selection menu; associate each dimension with a contentattribute of a plurality of content attributes; select a plurality of AVprograms, an AV program of the plurality of AV programs is selectedbased at least in part on a score of the AV program associated with atleast one content attribute of the plurality of content attributes;position the plurality of AV programs in the content selection menu;output the content selection menu for display; receive interest input ofan AV program of the plurality of AV programs from a target user;generate a second content selection menu based at least in part on theinterest input, wherein the generating the second content selection menuin response to the interest input includes: identifying, for the AVprogram of interest, a score corresponding to each content attribute ofa set of content attributes associated with the AV program of interest;selecting to be included in a second set of a second plurality ofcontent attributes, two content attributes from the set of contentattributes associated with the AV program of interest that have two topidentified corresponding scores of all identified scores of the contentattributes associated with the AV program of interest; and associatingeach content attribute of the second set with an axis of a plurality ofaxes of the second content selection menu; and output the second contentselection menu.